Controller opinions wanted...

All controllers have their positives and negatives, however, my recommendation would be a Neptune Systems controller. Whether it be an AC3 or an Apex, they are both great controllers that have gotten good reviews and most of all, have been stable. One of the best things that you can do with any product that you buy is to go out to the Reef Central forums for that vendor and see what people are complaining about and how many people are complaining. Keep in mind that the forums like that are going to be a lot of people having issues so don't let it scare you off when all of the forums are filled with people having issues. The main thing is to look at the severity of the issues, the number of people having the issues, what the vendor is doing about them, and how much the other people on the forum are able to help you. Capability wise, the ReefKeeper and Apex are roughly similar for the things that you will be interested in doing at first. The more advanced functions may make one more preferable than the other.

Now, specifically about the Tunze pumps, the Apex controller has better support for them than the AC3. With the AC3, you need the AquaSurf module. It's built in with the Apex. Basically I'm talking about being able to control them very precisely and not 1 minute pulses, etc.

Running a large reef like that without a controller would not be wise in my opinion. I believe that if you invest in the controller, you will be happy that you did.

--AJ

 

Oh, another thing, with the Apex controllers coming out, the AC3 controllers are more affordable than ever and frequently found used. Also, if you're an iPhone/iTouch user, there's an app for your Neptune controller so you can see your parameters, control your devices, etc using your phone. There may be an equivalent app for the ReefKeeper controllers...I don't know.

I must say, I really like the ReefKeeper's approach to moonlights more than Neptune's Lunar Sim.

--AJ

 

i would definately get a controller. PH can be controlled with a calcium reactor but you need somethign to read your PH. thus you would have to spend atleast 100 bucks on a Ph controller. as far as the lights go, i doubt you will find an all in one light system for that big of a tank. you'll more than likely want lumenarcs or something retro fitted, and that wont have built in timers. heaters are better anymore but with the controller its nice to have the heaters shut off at a specific temp and have fans come on at a specific temp. if i didn't have my controller my tank woldl be all over the place with temperature. I find that controllers are very useful. even the hundred dollare Reefkeeper lite would be ok to get things started haha.

 

i've only seen 2 300g tanks and each one had 3 400w halides on it. if ya got the cash LED that sucker haha

 

oh and i own a Reefkeeper 2. i dont mind it but i have lost control over one of my outputs on my power bar. its stuck always on now. which isn't bad but it was my return pump and i would turn it off for feeding with one simple button haha i'm just to lazy to rearrange all the other plugins

 

24" fixture of what?

 

Are you planning to run a calcium reactor?

 

HERE is an AC3 with temp probe and DC8 for $280 shipped-good price!

 

That's a very good price!

--AJ

 

holy cow thats alot of money for 24" of light haha

 

calc reactors are all nice but i know of a 300g system who had a calc reactor that couldn't keep up. he is now just dosing with bulk reef supply's 2part. easier to maintain, alot more control and a little cheaper

 

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